Featured Interview – Jeff Schroedl

image

Cover photo © 2024 Jim Hartzell

imageLast December, blues fans were treated to the surprising news that the storied Blind Pig Record label was relaunching after being on hiatus for much of the last eight years. Since its inception in 1977, the label had put out many classic recordings by a deep roster of outstanding blues artists. The relaunch offers an opportunity for more must-hear projects that will delight blues fans around the world.

Taking over as the label head is Jeff Schroedl, a long-time veteran of the music business, serving as Executive Vice President of the Hal Leonard Corporation, known for it’s music publications and music educational material. Additionally, Schroedl has experience as a working musician, playing guitar for the Milwaukee-based Altered Five Blues Band. Formed more than two decades ago, the band has worked hard to garner recognition, as witnessed by a number of awards, including their first release, Cryin” Mercy, being named the “Best Self-released Album” at the 2015 International Blues Challenge, sponsored by the Blues Foundation.

Taking over the running of a record label, even one with a storied past, took a real leap of faith.

“Sony and the Orchard Group acquired the Blind Pig label from its original founders in 2016. I’ve known some of their people for several years and been talking with their label division about the idea of relaunching Blind Pig for more than a year. I met with them a couple times, and the more we talked, the more it made sense to try to do it. They were excited about it. I’m excited about it. So we reached out to Jerry Del Giudice and Ed Chmelewski, the label’s founders, to get their thoughts and support.

“They were very supportive and helpful, and we decided to go for it. It’s a risky, risky business for sure, but I think there’s a lot of potential there, and I am excited about bringing the Blind Pig Record label back. I’ve a big fan of the label through the years, and certainly want to do my best to maintain that quality people associate with the name and brand.”

“I’m not too big on titles, so I haven’t given myself one. The day will come when I’ll make up a real title for myself. Right now, I’m leading the label from all angles. I’m doing the A& R, scouting talent, and I’m very involved in the business side of contractual agreements and terms as well as getting our artists started in terms of recording, songwriting, and connecting with producers, all the way through to marketing and promotion.

“I’m involved in all aspects, and then bringing others into certain areas of a project as needed. Thankfully, I have a diverse background in the music business with content creation, music publishing, and lots of interaction with management companies, publishers, other artists, PR firms, digital e-commerce, booking agents, and some radio promoters. And I’m also obviously a big blues and roots music fan. So I’m passionate about the music and want to help it evolve. My plan is to do my best to bring all of those pieces together. I will try to defer to the artist and the producer on projects, staying in the background while paying attention to the songs and provide some general direction.

image“It may seem crazy to do it, but sometimes you’ve got to take a risk. If you do what you’ve always done, you get what you’ve always gotten. And I think that’s important to let people know that I want to help people, to connect with exceptionally talented artists, and help them reach their potential. I’ve got a lot to learn. And it’s a tough task these days for any record company, unless you’re got Taylor Swift on your label.”

The Orchard is a music distribution company, a division of Sony Music. Having access to The Orchard system certainly will make it easier for Schroedl to get future Blind Pig releases out in the the different formats of today’s musical marketplace.

“Distribution was how the Orchard started. They’ve evolved to having other components. They have a suite of services that they can offer, some of which we’ll partner with, such as digital marketing We’ll see how that goes, but they have been very helpful for sure. The Orchard owns the rights to the back catalog of Blind Pig recordings.

“Initially, I will looking after the website, the social media formats, and some of the marketing. I’m also very involved with in the YouTube channel content. You know, it’s all me. It’s my risk. I’m the label at this point, with help from The Orchard in terms of what they can offer in their suite of services. But essentially the risk is mine, so I’m going to have to selective and careful as I try to pave the way forward.”

After decades of being in the business, especially with his experiences as the guitarist for the Altered Five Blues Band, Schroedl has a pretty clear concept in mind regarding the type of artists he envisions on the label.

“We will be looking for real, genuine artists with rare talent. The goal will be to release records that people listen to over and over again, because the songs, the voice, and the music are so compelling, it reaches out and grabs you, pulls you in. Those great records take you to a special place, help you get away for an hour and escape. I want to work with artists who excel at songwriting and sing from the heart, making music that at least moves me, and hopefully moves other people, too.

“Everyone has their opinion about music. I just think the special sauce starts with a great song and a great voice. And blues music has to keep evolving and growing. It’s a living, breathing genre that needs to continue changing and progressing. At the same time, we are committed to a deep respect for the history and tradition of the genre.

“We’ve signed two artists that I’m really excited about. They’re both at the very beginning of their careers. In the future I imagine we’ll sign people at different spots in their careers. We have been talking to a variety of people. But first up, we’ve signed two people we’re really excited about. I think they could have a really, really bright future, so we’re trying to do it right. The Blind Pig relaunch news wasn’t public until recently. I had reached out to our new artists some months ago just to explore the idea and talk to them, just trying to get a handle on what they’re all about, what their potential might be, and their thoughts on songwriting.

“Jovin Webb is a really passionate musician down there in Louisiana. He’s gigging a lot, but not a well known name in blues circles yet. I think he has a really special voice and his songs are incredible. He’s partnered up with producer Tom Hambridge and we’re going to track the record in early March. The songs are outstanding and I think that’s really what it’s all about.

image“Our other new artist is Sonny Gullage, from New Orleans. He just has a great voice. I mean, the voice drew me in. He’s a really talented young musician, a keyboardist, and he’s already out there playing big festivals here and abroad, starting to gain a following. He’s a really good songwriter too, but very different than Jovin. They couldn’t be more different, but the songs are real. These guys are singing about real stuff in their lives. Sonny’s a young guy, 25 years old. He’s been writing, but hadn’t put it together in a way that he was able to do a recording. That’s where we came in, to try to help him.

“He’s got 12 tracks on the record, original tunes, and 11 of the 12 he wrote or co-wrote and And, yeah, they’re real tunes. He grew up playing in bars, doing solo and duo stuff, just playing covers like a lot of people do. He learned the ropes, but his whole live show, his band, everything’s going to be transformed here in the coming months He was all over the place musically. But he’s got a really special style. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s almost like Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles meets Jonny Lang and B.B. King. He’s really good, and the album is really tight. The album’s direction is certainly grounded in the blues and, to some degree, takes the music forward. I have been following him since 2020, early in the pandemic.”

Hambridge is producing both projects. Initially, Schroedl told the award-winning producer that he could decide which project he wanted to work on. But Hambridge was really excited about both artists, so Schroedl finally relented, after making it clear that Hambridge was not going to produce every Blind Pig release. And somehow, the producer managed to fit both projects into his always busy schedule.

“I’m not going to lie. Special singers and performers don’t grow on trees. But there are some good ones out there, no doubt. Sonny is really a heck of a live performer. He’s all over the place. And Jovin’s got a lot of presence too, in a different way. He plays a little bit of guitar, plays a little bit of piano, plays a little bit of harmonica, but he’s more of a front man. But he has a pretty commanding stage presence. Both of these guys are really humble and hungry.”

The music business has changed dramatically in the last decade. Many artists have been scrambling to generate revenue streams to compensate for egregiously low pay for downloads and the bottoming out of the CD market. But Schroedl feels there is opportunity out there.

“I think the music industry as a whole is strong and growing. It has always been disrupted by different things, going back in time. You have to work through those disruptions and spin problems into opportunities. The sky was falling when digital came out, and now that’s turning out to be good in its own way. CDs sales are a challenge these days. Certainly vinyl has helped a bit, as another revenue streams that artists and labels have. The blues world has been challenged in some ways, but at the same time, I believe that if the right music gets promoted in the right way, there’s still plenty of people who want to hear it.”

imageThe Altered Five Blues Band has a new five song EP, Testifyin’, coming out in March as a digital-only product. It will feature more songs in the band’s original style, delivered by lead vocalist Jeff Taylor’s powerful voice, punctuated by Schroedl’s sharp guitar work. The group was the first band signed to the label after The Orchard purchase, so it is fitting that they lead the way for the relaunch.

“The band’s been at it for 23 years, and this is our seventh studio recording. We decided to do a shorter EP this time. We’ve been traveling a bit. I think we did six trips to Europe in the last two years and this year we decided, hey, let’s take it a little easy and be more selective with performing. The EP has three or four of the songs that are kind of related to that theme of “testifying”. One’s called “I’ve Got The Scars To Prove It,” and another is titled, “You Can’t Win (If It Ain’t Within’)”. Another one’s called, “Don’t Tell Me I Can’t”. The sounds are built around Jeff’s voice, but everyone brings something different to the mix.”

Besides Schroedl and Taylor, the current line-up of the band includes Mark Solveson on bass guitar, Alan Arber on drums, and Steve Huebler on keyboards. Huebler was the group’s original keyboardist. He left to pursue other opportunities but returned to the fold in late 2021, when health issues sent Raymond Tevich to the sidelines.

“So three of us have been there from the beginning with a couple changes along the way, But it’s the same sound and most of the same guys through the years. We cut these tracks for the EP in one day. I guess we did a couple of overdubs the second day. But it was two takes of every song, and done.”

Artists interested in exploring opportunities with Blind Pig can find instructions for submitting material at the label’s website, under the “About” tab at:   www.blindpigrecords.com

“It’s hard. I know it is. That’s kind of the age we live in, where anybody can put anything out they want, In a way, it’s good. But it’s also hard to cut through the stuff, and that makes it hard to break people. But it’s been done many times before. It might take a couple records and plenty of hard work, but like I said earlier, we’re going to have to be really selective.

“We can’t start out signing a ton of people There’s already crazy stuff coming in that’s just not blues based at all. Thankfully, some legit things have come through. So as long as you match our label style, that’s good. I don’t know how many records we’re going to put out each year, but probably we will start a little slower, ramping up as we get more into it. You’ve got to get your bearings and just take your time. You don’t want to get out in front of your skis. We had some time in the months leading up to the announcement to kind of lay the groundwork, six to eight months just kind of getting some things set up.

“There are still some things to be worked out. We still don’t have the store set up on website, and some other things like that. Once we get the word out, hopefully people will hear that the first two records are pretty high quality and it’ll start attracting different people to the label. Again, I hope to create that special sauce that comes from a great song sung by an equally fine voice. That is when the magic happens!”

Please follow and like us:
0